To repair my GNex or to buy a new phone....?

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egel

36 posts

Geek

Topic # 123149 26-Jun-2013 12:28

Last week I got my GNex wet and the apparent results are:

Glitchy power button (press and long press frequently do not work, regardless of whether the phone is on or off). This may well be caused by mainboard hiccups.
Volume rocker does not work at all (and I have the version where the rocker ribbon is soldered on to the mainboard).
Screen auto-off does not work properly.
Screen displays scanline effects and a single row of green pixels at the bottom.
GPS does not work (as in will not run at all - enabling it does not launch the background service notification about the fix state.)

Calling, receiving calls, and sending and receiving SMS works fine. 3G works fine. Wireless works fine. Having the screen almost always on is totally unacceptable.

It was on at the time of the water event. I pulled the battery, let the phone dry properly, then disassembled and cleaned with alcohol any parts showing corrosion. Warranty is not a thing.

I'm contemplating:

Buying parts (screen ~ 150US, power button ~ 3US) and replacing them myself. I'm not sure if I can get a new GPS and mainboard so I'd be risking living with a broken volume rocker and GPS / sending it to Samsung to get those replaced anyway.
Sending it to Samsung to get it fixed. Not sure about the cost involved.
Buying a new phone. I like being on Google's update path, so I'm contemplating the Nexus 4, the One, and the S4.

I would almost certainly buy a Nexus 4 straight from Google (300US for the 8GB, 350US for the 16GB) and get it via NZ Post's YouShop remailing service if I knew a way to get around Google's payment restrictions.

Any suggestions/recommendations? (Whether to buy or repair, and if buying then advice re. device of choice would be appreciated.)

uglyb0b

335 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 19

Reply # 845544 26-Jun-2013 12:39

I'd be hesitant to spend money on repairing it considering the nature of the damage. You'll probably spend more than its worth on subsequent repairs as other parts start to fail. Maybe see if Samsung will give you a refurb as an out of warranty replacement?

egel

36 posts

Geek

Reply # 845592 26-Jun-2013 14:07

That's a good point. Regarding getting a refurb, I'm a little concerned that the price might approach that of (somehow) getting a Nexus 4 from the US, though...

Etcman

87 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Reply # 845647 26-Jun-2013 15:45

You can use a standard credit/debit card on Google play. You just need to set the billing address to your youshop address in Google wallet.

Krishant007

1394 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 80

Reply # 845650 26-Jun-2013 15:57

buy a new one.. i had a gnex - cracked the screen..everything else works fine.. screen repair would cost me about 250...i can get an s3 for about 550 or something...i thought i dont want to waste any more money in a phone that is now old - 19 months is old in terms of phone - it had a good life..

unless you are on a very tight budget - then get it repaired..

egel

36 posts

Geek

Reply # 845702 26-Jun-2013 18:15

Etcman: You can use a standard credit/debit card on Google play. You just need to set the billing address to your youshop address in Google wallet.

So

Payment Restrictions:

The country of your credit card must match the the country to which you're shipping.
The payment card used must be under your name.

(source) is just hot air and I don't need a US credit card to buy and ship to a US address? If so, that's the best news I've heard all week.

blakamin

Murray River
4316 posts

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Reply # 845746 26-Jun-2013 20:16

Buy a new phone. After water damage, corrosion begins... slowly. What works now might not work next month.

Etcman

87 posts

Master Geek
+1 received by user: 5

Reply # 845785 26-Jun-2013 21:35

egel:
Etcman: You can use a standard credit/debit card on Google play. You just need to set the billing address to your youshop address in Google wallet.

So

Payment Restrictions:
The country of your credit card must match the the country to which you're shipping.
The payment card used must be under your name.
(source) is just hot air and I don't need a US credit card to buy and ship to a US address? If so, that's the best news I've heard all week.

Yup, the country of your credit card (set to your YouShop address) and the country you are shipping to (YouShop, USA Oregon) match, so there is no problem.

I, and many others have ordered a Nexus 4 this way. I used an ANZ debit card.

egel

36 posts

Geek

Reply # 845799 26-Jun-2013 22:21

Etcman:
Yup, the country of your credit card (set to your YouShop address) and the country you are shipping to (YouShop, USA Oregon) match, so there is no problem.

I, and many others have ordered a Nexus 4 this way. I used an ANZ debit card.

Excellent. Problem solved, then. I'll just buy an N4 when I get this month's pay (in a couple of days). Hopefully $300 US should come in at less than $400 NZ.